Discouraging News for our future leaders!

What will it take for our state to get its act together? Stemming from the budget crisis and how it already hampered many after school programs and threatened to send many lower income families phoning their local legislators, the Governor is on attack once again. What happened to those days, when Schwarzenegger was campaigning on college campuses promising to lower tuition and help our inner city youth achieve a higher education? Today, just as some speculated during these tours, were False Promises. I dare to ask, How did we get in this mess anyway? Do our politicians have the general public's best interest at heart, or are they on a selfish pursuit to make a name for themselves and their families while climbing the political ladder? It is sad to say that the general public has no say in this, even if we head to the polls, solely because our pocketbooks and wallets don't have enough strength to stand and voice an opinion. Gone are the days when our leaders made an impact in our communities, so what should an aspiring politician look too? Corruption, Greed...I have no words of advice but our current gov. system has definitely left me scared and deterred from rising up and being that influential leader in our community.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger outlined a stark vision of a California that would sharply limit aid to some of its poorest and neediest citizens.His $83.4-billion plan would also freeze funding for local schools, further cut state workers' pay and take away 60% of state money for local mental health programs. State parks and higher education are among the few areas the governor's proposal would spare.The proposal, which would not raise taxes, also relies on $3.4 billion in help from Washington — roughly half of what the governor sought earlier this year — to help close a budget gap now estimated at $19.1 billion. Billions more would be saved through accounting moves and fund shifts.

Elimination of CalWorks, the state's main welfare program, would affect 1.3 million people, including about 1 million children. The program, which requires recipients to eventually have jobs, gives families an average $500 a month. Ending those payments would save the state $1.6 billion, the administration said. It would also make California the only state not to offer a welfare-to-work program for low-income families with children.Lawmakers rejected previous attempts by the governor to eliminate the program.Families would also lose state-subsidized day care under the governor's proposal; about 142,000 low-income children would be affected. That would save the state $1.2 billion. Preschool and after-school care would remain in place, as would some federally subsidized day care.Schwarzenegger's latest budget proposal is a starting point for negotiations that typically stretch well into the summer. His previous attempts to eliminate landmark state services have been upended by lawmakers who nevertheless agreed to substantial cuts last year. Their alternatives are limited, however; their tens of billions of dollars in temporary tax hikes and program cuts in recent years failed to end the state's chronic budget problems.

The governor blamed legislative inaction for the deep wound to state services. He said if controls on state spending that he has long sought were in place, the budget gap would be much smaller. He also accused the Legislature of failing to move quickly to rein in spending after he called an emergency session of the Assembly and Senate in January for that purpose.The Democrats who control the Legislature noted that Schwarzenegger vetoed measures they approved earlier this year to address a piece of the deficit. Voters twice rejected the spending controls the governor seeks.Democratic leaders immediately vowed to reject the governor's plans and craft alternatives, which they said could include new taxes on oil companies as well as the abolition of some corporate tax breaks.

Patriotism = $$$$

Michael Ovitz has one. David Geffen has another. Eli Broad has a couple. Just what is it about Jasper Johns's early "Flag" paintings that make some blue-chip collectors seem so, well, patriotic? It is clearly these aficionados are collecting for a more apparent reason $$$$, AND that is a very good reason to collect. Currently the Art market as it is now being called is spurring with well to do entrepreneurs who see lots of cash to be made from trades and exchanges. One must question though, whether these artworks are really being patronized through the manner of how they are being sold to be stored in some collectors basement only to be introduced to another. Furthermore, one must question what is the public to gain out of this? do we ever get to see the real thing, or will we keep being disassociated from such well known artwork if this keeps up?
You can hear Ovitz rhapsodizing about the painted stars and stripes for yourself. For along with the usual auction catalogue for Tuesday night's sale of the Michael Crichton estate, which includes a 1960-66 "Flag" (right) among other works. The cast of characters includes Christie's contemporary co-head Brett Gorvy, Crichton's fifth wife Sherri and master printmaker Ken Tyler. But the star turn belongs to Ovitz, who was Crichton's agent for 30 years.

“We both owned several works of Jasper over the years from different periods and always spoke of the dream of owning a Flag,” says Ovitz about half-way into the video, going on to describe how Johns's first "Flag" images broke from the then-dominant style of painting (i.e., Abstract Expressionism) and ushered in new experiments (i.e., Pop Art).Crichton bought his red-white-and-blue “Flag,” 1960-66, made of encaustic and paper on canvas, directly from the artist in 1973. Christie's is offering it Tuesday night with an estimate of $10 to $15 million.
Ovitz bought his highly textured "White Flag," 1955-58, at Christie’s in 1988 for about $7 million. He has given it pride of place in his home ever since. When I interviewed him once for an ARTnews "Top 200 Collectors" issue, he singled out "White Flag" as the centerpiece in his collection.
Unfortunately the best “Flag” paintings in Southern California cannot always be seen in person. In New York the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan both have great examples of these paintings, of which there are around 20 in existence. L.A. museums do not.
Rather, the best "Flags" out here are buried in private collections. David Geffen has one example, vertical in orientation. Eli Broad's foundation owns, along with a darker variation from 1994, two "Flags" from the 1960s. One is white like Ovitz’s. The other, colored like Crichton’s but significantly larger,went on display at the Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA until Broad withdrew the bulk of his collection from the museum in late 2008.

Simply Water

The beauty of water if taken a closer look, and the vital functions that it possesses should throng individuals to more considerate of the brevity that our world is currently facing. Here in LA it is hard to relate this travesty of water deprivation, as one congressman and mayor address the issue of water conservation in LA, our residents really need to see the impact of our actions and photos might just suffice.

As the world faces the challenge of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, we have renewed cause to contemplate the role of water in our lives. A good place to start is at the Annenberg Space for Photography’s current exhibit, “Water: Our Thirsty World.”The exhibit is in partnership with National Geographic Magazine and features photos from a special issue of the magazine. It’s split into six themes, each of which explores the role of water in human life and its relationship to our survival and that of the planet. The documentary-style images are bright, bold and arresting and serve as vivid guideposts to the complicated social and ecological issues surrounding water resources and arid lands.

The Annenberg space is the photographic equivalent of theater in the round, with pictures arranged in an aperture-like circle around a multimedia presentation space. The “Water” exhibit begins its journey on one side of the sphere. with photos from a series called “The Big Melt,” which examines what’s called “the great melt of the Tibetan Plateau,” an endangered glacial source that reportedly supplies nearly 40% of the world’s water.

Some of the exhibit’s most breathtaking images come from the series “The Burden of Thirst,” in which photographer Lynn Johnson follows the daily journey of Kenyan women as they walk through miles of stark desert -- colorful skirts and headdresses flapping around their thin, dark legs -- with bright yellow containers of water on their backs. A drought in that country has made retrieving safe drinking water even more difficult, and as the caption points out, “If the millions of women who haul water long distances had a faucet by their door, whole societies could be transformed.”

More familiar is “California’s Pipe Dream," in which pictures by Edward Burtynsky show vast expanses of suburban land with cookie-cutter tract homes that have been abandoned, their once-verdant lawns returning to a natural, arid state. Other images show Los Angeles freeways and sprawl, a desert region fed by imported water. The exhibit comes full circle with touching pictures from the series “Sacred Waters,” which documents humanity’s communal, religious and ritualistic use of water. A giant print by John Stanmeyer depicting half-naked men and women rolling, bathing and dancing in the crisp, cold water of the Saut d'Eau waterfall in Ville Bonheur, Haiti, during the Festival of the Virgin of Miracles seems to embody the almighty, life-giving power of water.

www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org

As one Great Conductor moves on...

I feel obliged to write on the nature of Esa after reliving the energetic movement that is Gustavo Dudamel. So what is Esa up to after his many years of conducting the LA Philharmonic, and spear heading the move to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. After all it was as if the new venue was specifically built for Esa and the LA Phil to redefine the music culture here in our backyard. Well surely one does not leave the music industry after having been drained in it for so long, it is Esa's passion and first love and he is on to move prosperous adventures and seeking to hone in on his talent, prompting some to think this move away from the spotlight was for exactly that.

The Finnish conductor and former music director of the L.A. Philharmonic is receiving an honorary doctorate at Friday's commencement ceremony at the University of Southern California.In its citation, the university described Salonen as a "preeminent composer, conductor and advocate of contemporary music."

Salonen is one of five people receiving honorary doctorates this year at USC. The others include William J. Bratton, the former L.A. Police Department chief; John Hood, former vice chancellor of the University of Auckland and of the University of Oxford; Ting-Kai Li, a physician and scientist; and Festus G. Mogae, the former president of Botswana.

Salonen is receiving his honorary degree from the university and then speaking at the satellite ceremony for the Thornton School of Music on the south lawn at Ramo Hall at 10:30 a.m. A spokesman at the USC Thornton School of Music said that Salonen participated in an informal master class at the school earlier this week during which he reviewed students' scores.
The meeting was organized by Don Crockett, chair of the composition department. Salonen reviewed student compositions, listened to recordings and offered comments. In 2009, Salonen stepped down as music director of the L.A. Philharmonic after a tenure of 17 years. During his time in L.A., he championed the programming of new music and helped to oversee the orchestra's move to Walt Disney Concert Hall. He is currently the principal conductor of London’s Philharmonia.

Gustavo Dudamel is all the RAGE!

Since last years announcement that Gustavo Dudamel will be taking over the reigns of the renowned LA Philharmonic as the existing Essa Pekka Salonen humbly obliges this new move, Gustavo has not ceased to impress and continues his tour of the world. The orchestra's first tour with its charismatic new conductor gets off to a rousing start at Davies Symphony Hall. Just as he has bewitched Los Angeles audiences since becoming music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic last fall, so the charismatic 28-year-old conductor has quickly brought Bay Area audiences under his spell. A pair of sold-out concerts in San Francisco on Monday and Tuesday evenings marked the launch of Dudamel's inaugural tour as music director of the Philharmonic, the orchestra's first national tour in almost a decade. If audience reactions to Monday's performance are anything to go by, the Philharmonic will be returning home later this month after completing its all-but-sold-out 10-concert journey with eight cities full of Dudamel devotees in its wake.


The audience didn't wait for the end of the concert to show its appreciation for the visiting group and its conductor, who has appeared on the same podium two times previously — with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra in 2007 and the San Francisco Symphony in 2008. Dudamel first arrived on stage Monday amid rapturous applause and yells of "Gustavo!" During the slow sections of the second movement of the symphony, some audience members nodded their heads and even swayed slightly as if hearing a lullaby. As is his habit, the conductor led Mahler's work without the aid of the score.


The Adams piece, a kinetic ode to the city of Los Angeles featuring stampeding percussion and careening solos for the trumpet and alto saxophone written especially for Dudamel's inaugural concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall last fall, had some people sitting at the edge of their seats. This included concertgoers David Lomeli and Leah Crocetto, respectively a tenor and soprano with the San Francisco's Opera's Adler Fellowship program, one of the country's top opera training institutions. The rising opera stars both performed under Dudamel's baton in a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem Mass with the L.A. Philharmonic in November.


It is quite apparent that this gifted man is surely pressing his talent on the masses, however not all are taking a liking to his conducting. As stated from the critique on his performance from some local San Francisco radio station, "we don't know if his take on Mahler is something of his own or if it's just him still trying to iron out the kinks with the group as a whole." Surely this young energetic phenom has taking the Classical music world by storm, but to what extent does hype overshadow the nature of the music? We will have to humbly wait ourselves and see if Gustavo can withstand the high expectations that LA has come to bestow upon its celebrities. I can only wait and hope that Gustavo remains true to his roots and does not get burnt out from the constant invitations coming from the world, and hones in on his talent to another level here in LA.

Eli Broad is at it AGAIN??

The billionaire is reportedly looking at a Grand Avenue site for his art museum. Here’s what city officials should have in mind for possible negotiations. It's a familiar recipe for urban revitalization in downtown Los Angeles. Start with a nondescript parking lot in a strategically important location. Propose replacing it with a new building by an acclaimed architect. Repeat as often as politically or financially feasible.That was the plan for the first phase of the ambitious but now stalled Grand Avenue project, which called for a mixed-use complex by Frank Gehry to replace a parking structure across the avenue from Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall.And in the last few days have come a flurry of news reports that Eli Broad wants to build an 82,000-square-foot museum for his Broad Art Foundation on another site now filled with cars, this one a surface parking lot at the southwest corner of Grand Avenue and 2nd Street. Owned by the city, the property was originally pegged as part of the Grand Avenue development's second phase.

What would the arrival of the museum mean for Bunker Hill and downtown?Broad, naturally, can be expected to push hard for a site and a deal that best suits his foundation, his collection and his much-debated vision for Grand Avenue. Indeed, it seems likely that Broad has kept the other sites in contention largely as a way to boost his leverage on Bunker Hill.As is so often the case in Los Angeles, the question is who on the public side will be pushing back — and how effectively.Handing the site over to Broad will make sense for the city only if the museum project can avoid becoming an isolated, self-contained architectural attraction in the inglorious tradition of downtown development. Indeed, even as Grand Avenue has continued to collect individual buildings by leading architects, long-imagined improvements to its streetscape have largely failed to materialize.Talks over the Bunker Hill site will be complicated by the fact that Broad has served as co-chair of the board of the Grand Avenue Committee, which includes representatives from the city, county and Community Redevelopment Agency and has been overseeing the planned project with developer Related Cos. and Gehry.

As many are anticipating the supposed new project to reach final negotiations, the public is drawing weary. For this struggle fits with the ambitions of the Billionaire and his indecisiveness to pick a suitable place for his new adventure. However what are we to do, who really knows what kind of artwork Eli Broad has, and what about the design of this new museum, which will house his pieces, surely DTLA would be a great location, turning the downtown region into an even more mega center for the art and culture. Primly located across from the already steam engine museum MOCA, surely Broad's new project will stir up competition amongst curators, and that will be to the benefit of the general public. However my concern is Architecture of course, and how the monopolization of Gehry's design will soon infiltrate the DTLA region, it's time for that new great innovator to surface and give Gehry some competition as well. Only if I had finished college already, perhaps I would be that person to contend the marginalized world of Architecture in Southern Cali.

the new OUTDOOR living

Architect Jeffrey Tohl's backyard has had several incarnations in the last 16 years: a grass yard in the shape of a Fender guitar, then a space dedicated to the kids complete with jungle gym, treehouse and a sandpit surrounded by a tricycle path. Now, the final metamorphosis — an outdoor living room and multilevel garden — may be laid at the feet of Maggie, the family's 4-year-old Airedale.
To accommodate the new family member, Tohl needed to reconsider the Studio City yard. Besides, the kids had outgrown their play area, and he and his wife, TV director Ellen Pressman, had always wanted an "adult place" to entertain friend’s outdoors and a Jacuzzi to sink into after a long day — all on a steeply sloped site.
Simply beautiful architecture is what Jeffrey Tohl’s achieved. Who says that a yard needs to have grass? With his technically placed slabs of concrete that evoke a passion of aesthetic beauty he is redefining what the outdoor living room is supposed to look like. Surely this notion of bringing the inside, outside is catching on and we are beginning to see this trend catch on a smaller scale in our local neighborhoods. Therefore expand your mind on the nature of living, get inspired from the art and culture that is LA.